


Leland and Rod are alive

by ShuTodoroki



Category: Cars (Pixar Movies)
Genre: A lot of lines from the movie stay the same, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Leland just wants to be Finn's best friend, M/M, Rod doesn't go kaboom, Romance, Some backstory between Leland and Finn, Spies & Secret Agents, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:55:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 16,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27367645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShuTodoroki/pseuds/ShuTodoroki
Summary: When Finn saves Leland from the oil platform, he tags along on Finn's mission to stop the Lemons. Rod escapes from the Lemons' wrath, and tries to warn Finn and the others about who the tow truck really is, before it's too late.
Relationships: Finn McMissile/Leland Turbo, Tow Mater/Holley Shiftwell
Comments: 9
Kudos: 19





	1. The Oil Platform

Agent Leland Turbo took a deep breath as he set up the camera in a storage room on the oil rig in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, turning it on and planning to make the transmission quick before any of the Lemons could catch him.

"This is Agent Leland Turbo. I have a flash transmission for Agent Finn McMissile. Finn. My cover's been compromised. Everything's gone pear-shaped. You won't believe what I've found out here." 

He angled the camera to reveal a porthole with flames rising in the distance, revealing that he was on an oil rig. 

"This is bigger than anything we've ever seen. And no one even knows it exists. Finn, I need backup. But don't call the cavalry - it could blow the operation. And be careful. It's not safe out here!"

He then heard voices coming from the hallway.

"Transmitting my grids now. Good luck!" He said quickly as he took back the camera, storing it in his headlight just as Grem and Acer entered the room. At least Finn now had the information he needed. 

"Hey! You British spies don't belong here!" Grem yelled, taking out a machine gun from one of his tire rims.

"Yeah, what are you doing snooping around here?" Acer demanded to know.

"Obviously, gathering intel on the terrorist organization you are running." Leland said, keeping his cool, even if he knew his death was imminent.

"Well, you ain't gonna be doin' that anymore." Grem stated as he went over to a switch.

Leland gritted his teeth. "What are you going to do? Kill me?" 

Grem had a sadistic grin. "Yes, in the worst way possible. Crushed slowly, until you're nothing more than a red cube. Didn't you know this room also has a trash compactor?" 

"Wait." Acer said. "We should go tell the Professor. This agent could've told other spies information, and he needs to know if that's the case."

Grem sighed, since Acer had brought up a good point. No crushing until later. "You have a point. Let's tie him up." He said as he and Acer rammed Leland into the wall to incapacitate him, tying him up with rope stored in their wheel rims. 

Leland struggled, but they were quick enough to the point that he was helpless. 

"It's no use. You're gonna spill to the Professor, whether you like it, or not." Acer threatened. 

"Try me." Leland spat. 

"Oh, we will." Grem said with a smirk, as he was unceremoniously thrown into a container, his world going dark as the lid was put on. 

He had very little awareness as to what was going on, only feeling the movement of the container, and being hoisted into the air. He heard Finn radioing him, which meant that he was already at the oil platform. However, he didn’t respond, as they would hear him communicating with another agent, something that he wanted to keep covert. 

"Hey, Professor Z! This is one of those British spies we told you about." Grem said.

"Yeah. This one we caught sticking his bumper where it didn't belong." Acer explained.

"Agent Leland Turbo." Professor Z stated as the lid was lifted, revealing Leland in his bonds. 

"Oh, hi, Professor." Leland greeted, a smirk on his face.

"That smirk will be wiped off of your face when you are terminated." Professor Z threatened. "What did you learn, and who did you send the intel to?"

"As if I'd tell you." Leland responded in defiance. 

Professor Z growled. "You will tell us, or-" He was cut off as machine gun fire rained down from above.

Leland looked up and saw his old pal, Finn McMissile. He grinned as he took the sudden distraction as a chance to break free from his ropes, deploying his machine guns, which snapped the ropes.

"It's Finn McMissile! He's seen the camera! Kill him!" Professor Z ordered, not seeming to realize that Leland had broken free until there was a ruckus behind him, Leland opening fire around him to clear a path for his escape.

"You imbeciles! Kill him as well!" He ordered.

Leland had already taken out the Lemons surrounding him at that point, however, as he floored it. He had no idea where Finn was, but they'd probably link up at some point on the relatively small oil platform. He maneuvered around multiple pillars, looking for a viable escape route. 

He saw a Gremlin hot on his tail, so he released an oil slick to make them slip, as he used a grappling hook deployed from one of his bumperettes to take the corner as the Gremlin behind him slipped, falling into the ocean below.

He was still trying to find a way out when he heard an explosion from a tall tower behind him, undoubtedly Finn's doing. Good job, Finn. He thought as he evaded some more Lemons in his way, whether it was leaving behind explosives or using his machine guns. 

He made it to a helipad the same time Finn did, proving that they would meet up at some point. They had no time to acknowledge each other, though, as they were soon surrounded by Lemons.

He watched as the first six Lemons took out blowtorches, and he knew that the only way out was backwards, which was a pretty high fall into the ocean. 

He heard Finn revving his engine and glanced at him, his rear tires creating smoke as they spun against the concrete. He initially had no idea as to what he was doing, but it clicked. Just in time, too, as the Lemons closed in on them. 

He did the same, and both of them drove backwards off the edge of the helipad. He did a flip so that he was oriented 90 degrees to the ocean, hood first. He hit the water at a high velocity, but stayed intact from the form that he had when he hit the water.

He deployed his jet skis as he surfaced, following Finn as they both made their escape. He hoped that they could make their getaway, but he knew that it was too easy as he heard two splashes behind him, knowing that they had released the boats to follow them. 

He evaded various rockets and bullets from machine guns, until he heard something being shot, and a homing missile raced past him. 

It seemed to strike Finn, creating a giant explosion of water. He had no idea if Finn was actually dead or not, but he had no time to think as he heard another missile being shot. He heard it getting louder and louder, but he ducked underwater at the last minute.

He deployed his submarine mode, and released his spare tires to give the illusion that he had died. He saw Finn looking at him in his submarine mode, gesturing with a front tire to follow. 

_He's alive. Cheated death once again._ He thought as he caught up to his spy friend. "So, you got my transmission, Finn." He said over radio, since he had a breathing apparatus in his mouth. 

"Indeed. Why didn’t you respond?” Finn asked.

“I was stuck in a container. If I responded, they would hear me.” Leland explained.

Finn sighed. “Honestly, Leland, you mustn't keep getting yourself into situations like these." He warned.

"No one else would investigate. I thrive on danger. You know that." Leland pointed out.

"Yes, and I've saved you, oh, how many times?" Finn asked.

Leland rolled his eyes. "To be fair, I've returned the favour a few times." 

Finn raised an eyebrow. "And what ratio would that be?" 

Leland thought about it. "Ah…one to three?" 

"Exactly." 

"I can still hold my own, you know. Granted, you have more bells and whistles, but physical combat is also useful. I was planning on getting new weaponry installed, anyway, when we return to London." 

"You'll have to wait, then. We aren't heading back to HQ anytime soon." Finn stated.

"Oh? Where are we headed?" 

"To Tokyo. We're meeting an agent of the Tokyo station at the World Grand Prix party. She has a message from London." 

"I suppose that it is better, since Japan is closer to where we are." 

"That's why they chose Tokyo." Finn explained.

"I look forward to accompanying you for the rest of this…escapade." Leland said, grinning around his breathing apparatus.

"I always value your company and assistance, Leland." Finn replied, returning the smile as they continued their journey to Tokyo.


	2. Party in Tokyo

Leland drove down the ramp at the World Grand Prix party in Tokyo with Finn, as he looked around. 

“Alright, the car we’re looking for is a purple 2008 MT-R Mark II. Keep a lookout for her.” Finn stated quietly.

“Got it. Though it might be like looking for a needle in a haystack.” Leland replied, as he gestured with a tire to the crowd of cars listening to Miles Axlerod introduce the racers.

“Most likely, she’ll come to us when she sees us.” Finn deployed one of his spy cameras from his headlights, as he scanned various cameras to see if they were a match with the one from the oil rig. 

He was about to scan another one, when what looked like a purple 2008 MT-R Mark II appeared in his camera view. 

“Finn, I believe that’s her.”

“Definitely.” Finn stowed away his spy camera back in his headlight, as she approached.

“Oh, hello you two.” She greeted.

“Hello.” Finn responded with a slight smile.

“A Volkswagen Karmann Ghia has no radiator.”

“That’s because it’s air-cooled.” Leland and Finn responded in unison, verifying that they were spies.

“Great. I’m Agent Shiftwell, Holley Shiftwell, from the Tokyo station. I have a message from London.”

“Not here.” Finn said in a hushed tone. “You must try the canapes on the mezzanine!” He said loudly, to keep their cover.

They entered an elevator that would take them to the mezzanine level, and Finn spoke once the elevator door was shut. “So the lab boys analyzed the photo I sent? What did they learn about the camera?”

“It appears to be a standard television camera. They said if you could get closer photos next time, that would be great.” 

Leland found it underwhelming that this was what London had to say, and that they traveled all the way to Tokyo for it. 

“This was London’s message?” Finn asked in disbelief.

“Oh, no. No. No sir. Um, the oil platforms you were on? Turns out they're sitting on the biggest oil reserve in the world.”

“Well, I did say that it was bigger than anything that we’ve ever seen.” Leland remarked.

Finn nodded, agreeing with Leland. “Yes, but how did we miss that?”

“They've been scrambling everyone's satellites. The Americans actually discovered it just before you did. They placed an agent on that platform, under deep cover. He was able to get a photo of the car who's running the entire operation.” Holley explained.

“Great.” Finn replied as the three secret agents drove out of the elevator. “Well, who is it? Has anyone seen the photo yet?” 

“No, not yet. The American is here tonight to pass it to you. He'll signal you when he's ready.”

“Good, good.” Finn said, waiting for the American’s signal. 

Leland, however, spotted some Lemons, and what looked like Professor Z down below on an overhead bridge. “Oh no. Finn, look.” He said quietly as he gestured to them with a tire.

Finn quickly retreated into a hallway. “Change of plan. You’re meeting the American.” 

Holley was taken aback, staring at Finn with wide eyes. “What, me?”

“Those thugs down there were on the oil platform. If they see me, the whole mission is compromised.”

“Well, what about Leland?” Holley suggested, obviously not wanting to be the one to meet the American.

“I was on the oil platform as well, Miss Shiftwell. Finn saved me back there, actually. If anything, they’d recognize me quicker.” Leland replied.

“No, no. I'm technical, you see. I'm in Diagnostics. I'm not a field agent.” Holley explained.

“You are now.” Finn said with a slight smirk. 

“You’re just picking up a photo. It’ll be fine.” Leland reassured.

“I’m afraid I might mess up the operation. You see, everything I’ve learned is from the academy. I have no real-life experience.” 

“We don’t exactly have an alternative.” Finn stated. 

Holley sighed in defeat. “Alright…so what do I do?” 

“Pretend to be like a normal party guest and mingle among the crowd. I’ll be in contact at all times by radio. When the American activates his tracking beacon, you go to where he is. Simple as that.” Finn instructed. 

“Okay…” Holley said as she drove away, obviously still extremely nervous.

Meanwhile, a Gremlin entered the men’s bathroom, only to reveal an American muscle car underneath. Rod Redline had a stoic expression as he approached a sink to wait for Finn McMissile. “Okay, McMissile. I'm here. It's time for the drop.” He turned on his tracking beacon to notify all spies where he was.

Holley got a notification on one of her mirrors, revealing the American’s location. “Okay, so, the American has activated his tracking beacon.”

“Roger that. Move in.” Finn replied via radio, as he and Leland kept themselves hidden.

Rod stared at his reflection in the mirror as he waited for Finn, but he soon became aware of Grem and Acer behind him. They must’ve followed him when he disbanded from the rest of the Lemons in disguise.

His eyes narrowed as he took out his concealed pistol in his front left wheel out of caution, and loaded it. Acer charged him at that exact moment, and he whipped around, firing a shot at Acer. That did not deter them, however, as Grem rammed him into the bathroom wall, repeatedly doing so in an attempt to incapacitate him.

His armored frame could take a lot of damage, but he was struggling, and he needed backup. He tried to ram Grem back into another wall, but Acer hit him on his left side, sending him into a bathroom stall door.

While this was happening, Holley located Rod’s tracking beacon, and sighed in disgust. “Oh, you’ve got to be joking.”

“What’s the problem, Shiftwell?” Finn asked.

“He’s in the loo!” 

“So go in!”

“I can’t just go into the men’s loo.”

“Time is of the essence, Shiftwell.”

Holley gave another sigh. “Alright…”

Leland watched Holley approach the bathrooms, and he looked at Finn, concerned. “I do hope that she successfully meets up with the American agent.” He said, not via radio so Holley couldn’t hear.

“She seems capable.” Finn replied. “As I said, we don’t have an alternative.”

Rod stood off with Grem and Acer as he reversed into the wall, ready to charge again, when a tow truck came out of one of the stalls, and hit Acer in the face. 

_Well, that was fortunate…_ He thought as he watched the tow truck exit the stall and turn around. “Whatever you do, I would not go in there.” The tow truck warned.

He had no idea what the tow truck was talking about, but as long as he allowed him to stall for time, so be it. He sensed that he would not be able to give Finn the photo after this, so he extended a small screwdriver-like arm from his right wheel, planting a small device containing his tracking beacon and the photo on the tow truck’s undercarriage, while he was rambling about Grem and Acer’s makes and models.

“Ow! What the-” The tow truck exclaimed as he turned around, looking at him for the first time. “Whoa, are you okay?” 

He was obviously not okay, but it’s not like the tow truck could do anything to get him out of this situation if he said otherwise. “I’m fine.”

“Hey, tow truck. We'd like to get to our private business here, if you don't mind.” Grem said, obviously annoyed by the interruption.

“Oh, yeah. Don't let me get in the way of your ‘private business.’ Oh! A little advice: When you hear her giggle and see that waterfall, you best press that green button.”

He looked at the tow truck in confusion and disbelief, as he was basically describing a Japanese toilet. Well, he bought him time to recover, at least. 

“Thank you.” Grem responded curtly. 

“It's to adjust the temperature.” The tow truck explained.

“Got it.” Acer replied, obviously wanting to pick up where they left off.

“Remember it's in Celsius, not Fahrenheit.”

“Get outta here!” Grem and Acer said in unison.

“Alright then.” The tow truck said as he left, leaving him to Grem and Acer’s wrath. 

Holley was about to enter the men’s bathroom when the door opened, and the tow truck exited. “Excuse me, ma’am!” He said as he let out exhaust while passing her. “Dadgum pistachio ice cream.”

Holley’s mouth was agape as the tracking beacon followed the tow truck’s movements. “This cannot be him.” 

“Is he American?” Finn asked over the radio. 

“Look out, ladies. Mater's fittin' to get funky!” The tow truck said to himself.

“Extremely…” Holley replied.

“Then it’s him.” Finn stated.

“Well, it seems that she’s made contact with the American. That’s good.” Leland stated, once again off of the radio. 

“Indeed. Once we get the photo, we’ll know who’s behind all this.”

They waited for Holley to return to them, and Leland soon spotted Holley coming out of the hallway leading to the bathrooms. She was heading towards them when a tow truck yelled from across the art museum. “Hey! Hey lady! See ya tomorrow!” 

Holley quickly made her way over to Leland and Finn before her cover could be compromised further. Thankfully, no one seemed to take notice. 

Leland looked shocked as he stared at the tow truck while Finn just looked confused. “Miss Shiftwell, who was that?” Leland asked.

“The American spy. I’ve no idea why he would do that, though…”

“Perhaps it has something to do with his cover. Did you get the photo?” Finn asked.

“He was hesitant, which makes sense because he must know the cars from the oil rig are all around here. He said that he’d rendezvous at the race tomorrow.” 

“Understandable. Then, we’ll get the photo.” Finn stated.

Leland was unsure. “Even if that is his cover, that was a very daring move.” 

“I trust that he knows what he’s doing. C’mon, we should leave before one of them has a chance to see us.” Finn urged, as all three of them left the party.


	3. Rod's Escape

At the same time they left the party, Rod was thrown into the back of a transport truck. “Gonna rough me up even during transport, eh?” 

“What? You think we’re gonna treat you all nice after you tricked us?” Grem retorted as he shut the trailer door, leaving Rod literally and figuratively in the dark. He groaned in pain as he felt the transport truck move. He had no idea where they were taking him, but he had to look for a way out. 

Half an hour later, Rod felt the truck stop, and the trailer door opened. 

“Get out!” Acer demanded, as Lemons surrounded the trailer in case he tried to escape. Of course, there was always a weak point. He just had to find it in time. He rolled out as commanded, wobbling a bit from his battered frame. He could see that he was at an industrial dock outside Tokyo.

“Aren’t you gonna kill me already? What do you want?”

“We know you had a device with sensitive information on it.” Professor Z said as he came into view from behind the Lemons. 

“Tell us who you gave it to!” Grem demanded.

“Your mother. Oh no, I'm sorry. It was your sister. You know, I can't tell them apart these days.”

Some of the Lemons readied their guns at Rod’s defiance. Acer pulled up a TV with surveillance footage, showing Rod ordering something from a Japanese waitress. “Was it her?”

Rod was silent as he stared Acer down.

“How about him? Did you talk to him?” Acer asked as the TV switched to Rod talking to a Ferrari near the sushi bar. 

Rod was still silent as he calculated a way out. The only way out was backwards, into Tokyo Bay. He still stared Acer down, intending to reveal nothing. 

“Does he have it?” Acer asked as the view switched to Rod and Mater in the men’s bathroom. 

Rod did a very subtle double-take as he recognized the tow truck, and immediately realized his mistake.

“That’s him. He’s the one.” Professor Z stated.

“No!” He exclaimed as he realized that he had just endangered an innocent civilian, his expression contorted into a grimace. 

“Yes sir. We believe the infiltrator has passed along sensitive information. I will take care of it before any damage can be done.” Professor Z said into a phone before he hung up.

“The project is still on schedule. You will find this second agent.” He ordered Grem and Acer. “Kill him.” He said to the rest of the Lemons as he pointed at Rod with a tire.

Rod gritted his teeth as the Lemons opened fire. He peeled backwards, and plunged into the waters of Tokyo Bay. 

The Lemons stood there in shock as Rod did what Finn and Leland did at the oil rig. 

“Don’t just stand there! Head to the boats!” Professor Z ordered. 

Everyone complied as he deployed his jet skis (which thankfully still worked), and he tried to make his escape as he surfaced. 

“Do not waste time. Deploy the homing missiles immediately.” Professor Z ordered. 

“Roger that, Professor Z.” Grem replied as two homing missiles were sent Rod’s way.

He looked behind him and saw them coming. He ducked underwater as they exploded on contact with the water, creating an explosion that gave him enough time to project a hologram behind him.

Grem watched carefully after the explosion, to ensure Rod was dead. He saw what looked to be an undercarriage with tires rise to the surface, and then sink back down into the depths of Tokyo Bay. He smirked as he radioed Professor Z. “Rod Redline is dead. I saw his undercarriage and tires float and sink back down.”

“Excellent. Now we shall deal with the tow truck.” Professor Z replied as the boats returned to the industrial dock. 

Rod deployed his breathing apparatus as he “swam” in his submarine mode across Tokyo Bay, intending to get as far away from where the Lemons were as possible. He soon arrived in Chiba, across the bay, and surfaced. Thankfully, few cars were out this late, so he managed to sneak his way into a deserted alleyway, unseen. 

He sighed as he deployed his first aid kit from his trunk, and looked at what he could do to fix the exterior injuries he had taken. Thankfully, nothing internal was damaged, as he tried to hammer out the dents on his left side from what he learned from his training.

He managed to make himself look presentable enough, as he tested his disguise emitter. He put on his Gremlin disguise successfully, but he knew that he couldn’t use that anymore. He searched through what presets he had, and went with an uninteresting orange Toyota Corolla. “Great.” He said to himself. _I made it out alive once again…_

He knew that the Lemons and the World Grand Prix were connected, as the camera at the oil rig had the World Grand Prix logo on it. Thus, he would head to Porto Corsa from nearby Narita Airport, hopefully meeting up with Finn McMissile there to save the tow truck. 

_It’s a good thing you can book a flight 24 hours in advance._ He thought as he headed out into the streets of Chiba in his Toyota Corolla disguise.


	4. Tokyo Race and Rendezvous with Siddeley

Leland, Finn, and Holley watched from a downtown office building as Mater sat in McQueen’s pit during the Tokyo race. 

“Why is he in the pits? He's so exposed.” Holley asked, confused and concerned.

“It's his cover. One of the best I've seen, too. Look at the detail on that rust. It must have cost him a fortune.” Finn replied. 

“It really must’ve. It looks like his whole frame is covered in it.” Leland commented.

“Indeed. Maybe we should get more budget for our disguises.” Finn suggested.

“But why hasn't he contacted us yet?” Holley pulled up a holographic display, showing another view of Mater.

“There's probably heat on him. Be patient.” Finn said.

“As you said, he’s probably cautious because of all the cars from the oil rig at the party last night.” Leland pointed out.

“Right, of course. He'll signal us when he can.” Holley responded.

“And then we find out who's behind all this.” Finn looked determinedly ahead. 

They waited for any kind of signal from Mater, as the racers approached the starting line again. Suddenly, Miguel Camino’s engine exploded, causing him to pit immediately.

“What happened over there?” Leland wondered aloud as he watched the Spanish racer pit. 

“I’ve no idea. Perhaps a mechanical failure.” Finn hypothesized. 

“Hold on. I think I’ve got something.” Holley said as an alert sounded from her holographic display.

“What is it?” Finn asked. 

“It’s the Pacer from the party last night.” Holley pulled up photos from the oil rig. “Cross-referencing with the photos from the oil derricks. Yep. His VIN numbers match.”

“He must be here with the rest of the cars from the oil rig.” Leland surmised.

“Good point, Leland. Anyone with him? He won't be alone.” Finn stated.

“Conducting analysis on the target.” Holley searched the crowds in the stands. “He's not the only one here. Three…five…they're everywhere. And they're all closing in on-” She cut off when she saw that they were closing in on Mater. “Oh no! Finn? Leland? Where are you both?”

Finn and Leland were both gone, on their way to McQueen’s pit. “Get him out of the pits, now!” He yelled through the radio.

Both British spies made it under the audience stands, and were maneuvering around the pillars to reach McQueen’s pit to save Mater. “They’re coming, Shiftwell. Get him out of there!” Finn reiterated over the radio. 

Finn and Leland entered McQueen’s pit door, and Finn readied a fire extinguisher. “You’re going to use that for your defense?” Leland asked, unsure of Finn’s strategy. 

“It will blind them enough for us to protect the American.” Finn explained quickly, just as the door opened.

“Finn McMissile? Leland Turbo? But you two are dead!” Acer exclaimed.

“Then this shouldn’t hurt at all.” Finn replied as he emptied the fire extinguisher in both of their eyes, allowing them to escape.

Leland followed Finn through the streets of Tokyo as they searched for Mater. “Miss Shiftwell?” Finn asked, looking for a status update. 

“I've got him in the back alleys east of the garages. Multiple assailants are closing in quickly.”

“Keep him moving. We’re on our way.” Finn replied as he used his grappling hooks to ascend to the roofs above.

Leland followed suit. “We’re attacking from above, right?”

Finn nodded. “Knocking over that flower vending machine will deter some of them.” He used a grappling hook to knock over a flower vending machine right when a Gremlin was approaching it, causing the shop owner to wake up and the other two owners to come out from the shop.

They accosted the Gremlin, providing a distraction as Finn and Leland lowered down from the roof with their grappling hooks. Leland and Finn did a tire five, but they didn’t have time to celebrate as a Lemon came out of nowhere, hitting Finn head on. 

Leland bashed said Lemon out of the way, but Finn was soon boxed in by three Pacers, pushing him towards Acer, who was holding a flamethrower. 

“This time, I'm gonna make sure you stay dead.” Acer said as he lowered his helmet and hit the flames. 

Leland broadsided the Pacer at Finn’s rear to clear a path for Finn, but he was rear ended by another Pacer into a closed shop facade, incapacitating him as another Gremlin filled in the spot behind Finn.

Finn leaped into the air, causing the Gremlin pushing him from behind to shoot forward from his momentum, as Finn landed on the two Pacers to his left and right. 

The resulting collision between Acer and the Gremlin caused the flamethrower to explode, sending both cars flying, Acer getting impaled on a sushi restaurant sign.

Leland had recovered by this point, and used a grappling hook to grab one of the Pacers and throw them into another shop facade, as revenge of sorts. 

Finn used his magnet wheels to throw one of the Pacers into a hydraulic lift, setting it off with a bullet, crushing the Pacer between the ceiling and the floor. 

A Gremlin charged Finn, but Finn dodged out of the way, and the Gremlin ended up in the lift shaft. He shot the lift mechanism, causing the lift to freefall and crush the Gremlin.

Leland approached Finn as both cars panted. “Heh…you alright, Finn?”

“Never felt more alive.” Finn replied, smirking. 

“That was cool! Hey, can I get y’all’s autographs?” A voice said from behind them.

Leland and Finn turned around to see the American spy that they had protected, only for a few seconds as multiple race fans filled the streets, blocking their view of Mater. 

“C’mon. Let’s go.” Finn said as he grappled up to the top of the lift shaft. 

Leland followed as they grappled back to the downtown office building they were hiding in. 

Holley met them at the entrance. “The Americans must not have very strict standards for their spies.” She said, exasperated. 

“Why? Did he cause trouble?” Leland asked. 

“He went down the street you and Finn were fighting in when I told him not to.” 

“The radio sometimes has a lot of interference. He probably didn’t hear you correctly.” Finn explained.

“Whatever the case, I told him to keep the device safe until we could rendezvous again.” 

“Great. We’ll have to keep a close eye on the activities of those cars, since they are now on high alert for the tow truck.” Leland warned.

“Indeed. We’ll have to ensure that the American is not separated from the device.” Finn agreed. "Come now. We're heading to Haneda Airport to rendezvous with Siddeley." 

"Ah, good ol' Sid! How's he doing?" Leland asked, while Holley just looked confused.

"Siddeley? Who's he?"

"He's doing well, Leland, and Siddeley is a spy jet who works closely with me. He has lodging facilities that we can use for the night." Finn explained. 

"Oh, alright then." Holley said as the three set off for Haneda Airport. 

They soon arrived, and followed Finn as they entered one of the hangars, seeing Siddeley inside. 

"Siddeley, my boy, how are you?" Finn greeted. 

"Finn! Leland! I am doing fine." He greeted the two. "I see you two are still intact. Splendid. Who's this with you?" He asked as he looked at Holley.

"This is Agent Holley Shiftwell, from the Tokyo Station. She's assisting us with stopping the cars behind the oil rig." Finn explained.

"It is a pleasure to meet you." Holley said politely.

"Likewise! Welcome aboard." He said as he deployed his tail ramp.

"Did you renovate slightly since last time?" Finn asked as he looked around, seeing some slight differences in the interior.

"Ah, you noticed. Yes, they installed more up to date computers, and slightly better wood paneling. Of course, the former is more important." 

"Well, better wood paneling certainly doesn't go unappreciated either." Finn stated.

"Indeed. You are looking sharp, Siddeley." Leland commented.

"Thank you! Do you have any information as to where we're flying tomorrow?" Siddeley asked.

"Porto Corsa is where the next race will take place. We could start off there." Holley suggested.

"The plan is not set in stone yet, but it's tentatively Porto Corsa, as Miss Shiftwell as stated." Finn answered.

"Alright. I just want to plan the flight path for tomorrow." 

"Great. By the way, we will be picking up a fourth agent tomorrow as well." Finn informed Siddeley.

"Oh? Who?" 

"An American agent. He carries a photo which is crucial to finding out who's behind the operation on the oil platform." 

"That is certainly important." Siddeley remarked.

"Are we just going to take him from his cover of being part of Lightning McQueen's pit crew, though?" Holley asked.

"He'll find a way out of that cover to meet up with us." Finn stated. "If not, I will meet up with him back in the city, and notify him that it's time to go." 

"Sounds like a plan." Leland said.

The agents went to separate bedrooms, resting up for the night after the stressful day full of combat.


	5. Haneda Airport Showdown

"The American agent is currently en route to Haneda." Holley notified Finn and Leland the next morning.

"Great. He's coming to us. I'll meet him there; you two stay here." Finn said as Siddeley lowered his ramp. He drove out of the hangar, heading to the main building while Leland and Holley waited. 

"So, how long have you and Finn known each other?" Holley asked, making small talk while they waited. 

"Ever since the academy. We were roommates, and trained together constantly to receive the highest marks. We became partners after we graduated, and we practically owe our lives to each other. Maybe me more so than him, but you get the point." 

"Ah, you did say that he saved you on the oil rig." Holley recounted.

Leland nodded. "Yes. They threatened to crush me into a cube when they found me. I was fortunate that one of them wanted to get more information out of me. Gave me the time I needed." 

"He's heading towards airport security. Might take a while for me to retrieve him." Finn updated through the radio. 

"Roger that. Do whatever you need to do to get him here." Leland replied. 

"Why wouldn't the American just go straight to our hangar? He's making it quite difficult." Holley remarked.

"I've got no idea, but he must have a reason behind it." Leland asserted.

They heard Finn leading Mater away from airport security under the guise of a security car, and him introducing himself through the radio link. Mater then proceeded to introduce himself and say that he's triple A affiliated.

"Mater does know that he can drop his cover around another agent, right?" Holley asked.

"Perhaps he's being extra cautious?" Leland really had no idea what this agent was going for either. All he knew was that his approach was…unconventional. 

They then heard Finn's alarms go off through the radio link, and Finn stating that they were being followed. "Oh no. That can't be good. I assume that it's the Gremlin and Pacer from Tokyo." Leland stated. 

"We really should do something to help." Holley said, concerned if it really was the Gremlin and the Pacer. 

Leland thought about it before speaking. "Siddeley, we'd better get in the air so we can provide aerial assistance. If I know Finn, he's going to jump out of the window to escape." 

"Got it." Siddeley said as he taxied out of the hangar towards the runway, taking off once it was clear. 

Leland saw an explosion on the tarmac from one of the windows, and knew that was Finn's doing. "There's definitely a conflict going on on the ground. We'd better land, and pick them up." 

"Finn, it's Sid. I'm on approach." Siddeley said via radio as he descended.

"Roger that." Finn replied. 

Siddeley fired at a line of luggage carts that Acer was dragging across the taxiway, in an attempt to block Finn and Mater's way. They exploded on impact, clearing the way for Finn and Mater.

"Thanks, old boy!" Finn yelled without radio as Siddeley landed in front of the two.

"You got it, mate!" Siddeley replied as he deployed his tail ramp.

"Hey, doggone it. It's my imaginary girlfriend!" Mater exclaimed as Holley came into view, Leland coming into view shortly after.

"Come on! Get in here!" Holley yelled frantically. Time was of the essence.

"Boy I tell you what, you really do want this first date, don't ya? That's a no-quit attitude right there." 

Leland side eyed Holley, wondering what the American agent was talking about, but had no time to think about it when Acer blew one of Siddeley's tires with his bullets, causing him to careen off of the taxiway, into the grass. 

"Hold on, Sid!" Finn shouted as Siddeley managed to realign himself on another taxiway. He blew one of Acer's tires with a bullet as payback, allowing them to focus on getting on board Siddeley. 

"Come on, Finn! It's now or never!" Siddeley warned as they neared the end of the tarmac.

Finn did a 180, practically dragging Mater into Siddeley just as he took off. 

"Hold on!" Siddeley exclaimed as Mater dangled off of his tail ramp. 

Finn swiftly pulled Mater inside as Siddeley closed his tail ramp.


	6. The Engine Photo

"Now that's how I like to start the day! You never feel more alive than when you're almost dead." Finn remarked.

Leland deadpanned. "I really hope that you were joking when you said that, Finn." 

"Says the one who thrives off of danger." Finn retorted.

"…I suppose that you have a point there." Leland conceded. 

"Yeah. I hope that device didn't fall off." Holley said as she turned Mater's chair around.

"That's the closest I ever been to missing my flight! That was-" He cut off as Holley removed the device.

"Still in one piece. Great." Holley inserted the device into the computer as it started reading it.

"I gotta go to a doctor. I keep getting these sharp pains in my undercarriage." 

Leland looked at the tow truck with a raised eyebrow. "Actually, that was Miss Shiftwell removing the device." 

"Downloading the photo now." Holley said from behind them.

"Oh. That's a relief. I thought somethin' was wrong with me. Hey, lemme introduce you three. This here is Finn McSomething-or-other. He's a First Class VIP airport whatchamacallit. And Finn, this here's my date. I never did get your name." 

"Oh yes, sorry. It's Shiftwell. Holley Shiftwell." 

"And you're from the karate demonstration with Finn! I didn't get your name either!" Mater pointed out, addressing Leland. 

"It's Leland Turbo. British Intelligence." He introduced himself. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Tow Mater, was it?" 

"Yep! Tow Mater. T-O-W-" He was cut off as the cabin lights dimmed, and a hologram of the image was created between the three spies and Mater. 

"Finally. Time to see who's behind all this." Finn said as they studied the image.

"What is this?" Holley asked.

"Well, that's one of the worst engines ever made. It's an old aluminum V8 with a Lucas electrical system and Whitworth bolts. Shoot, them Whitworth bolts is a pain, tell you what. Them ain't metric, they ain't inches…" 

"We wanted to know who's engine this was, though." Leland clarified.

"Well, it's kinda hard to tell from this picture, ain't it?" 

"But you're the one who took it." Holley pointed out. 

"Holley." Finn warned.

"Oh, right. Yes, of course. 'A good agent gets what he can, then gets out before he's killed.' Sorry."

"Agent? You mean like insurance agent, like, 'Like a good neighbor, Mater is there!' Wait, you mean secret agents. You guys are spies!"

Leland had no idea what State Farm had to do with the topic at hand, and was glad when Finn seemed to take no notice and brought them back on track. 

"Holley, in how many makes and models did this type of engine appear?" Finn asked.

"It was standard in seven models over a 12-year period. At least 35,000 cars were made with this engine."

Mater poked his head through part of the hologram to look at Holley. "You're pretty."

"Yes, alright, thank you." Holley replied quickly, obviously wanting to get back to the task at hand.

"And so nice." Mater stuck his head further through the hologram as Leland was confused, but Finn seemed a bit amused. 

"Just pay attention." Holley said as she moved the hologram closer to her so that Mater's head wasn't sticking through the hologram anymore.

"This seems like a dead end. If there were something in the photo that could narrow this down a bit I'd be a lot happier." Finn stated.

"You might not be happy, but I bet this feller is. See how he's had most of his parts replaced? And see all them boxes over there? Them's all original parts. They ain't easy to come by." Mater pointed out.

Leland's eyes lit up. "Finn, rare parts." 

"That's something we can track." Finn realized.

"Exactly!" Holley said as the hologram disappeared, and the lights came back on. 

"Well done, Mater! I would never have seen that. I know of a black-market parts dealer in Paris, a treacherous lowlife. But, he's the only car in the world who can tell us whose engine this is. Mater, what would you say to setting up an informal task force on this one?" Finn asked Mater, as he looked at the tow truck expectantly.

"Wait, what?" Mater asked, looking confused.

"You obviously have plenty of experience in the field." 

"Well, yeah, I live right next to one." Mater paused as he sighed. "I don't know, Finn. I ain't exactly been much help to anybody recently."

"You're helping me. Please, Mater."

"Well, okay. But you know I'm just a tow truck, right?"

"Right, and I'm just in the import/export business." He said as he winked. "Siddeley?" 

"Yes, Finn?" Siddeley replied.

"Paris. Tout suite." 

"Yeah, two of them sweets for me too, Sid! You know, I always wanted to be a spy." He said to Holley.

"Really? Me too." Holley replied.

"Afterburners, sir?" Siddeley asked.

"Is there any other way?" Finn asked with a slight smirk. 

Siddeley quickly sped up as the afterburners kicked in, and Leland slid his chair back so that he was next to Finn, to talk to him. "You're getting Tomber involved in this, aren't you?" 

"He's the only one who can tell us who's engine that was, Leland, like I said." 

"Hm. If he tries to run this time, I'll be ready." 

Finn chuckled as he gave his partner a tire bump. "I know you will."


	7. Rendezvous with Tomber

Leland followed Finn and Holley down a street in Paris, looking around at the various storefronts. Paris was definitely not overrated in his opinion, in terms of scenery. It was a shame that they were not here for leisure. 

"Once we're inside, stay close. Don't bother checking VIN numbers for criminal records, they're all dodgy here." Finn instructed Holley.

"No VIN scans. Got it." Holley replied.

Leland looked behind him as Mater made noises while hiding behind dumpsters by the side of the street, trying to be covert, but ironically becoming less covert in doing so. "Mater, hiding behind dumpsters doesn't increase your stealth."

"Really?" Mater asked. He was sure that's how they did it in the movies…

"We're just driving down a street, aren't we? We blend in." Leland explained. 

"Oh. Got it." 

"Don't talk to anyone. Don't look at anyone. And absolutely, positively no idling. Are we clear?" Finn asked Holley.

"Yes, right. No idling. Yes, sir." Holley repeated. 

"Mater?" Finn turned around, looking at Mater and Leland. 

Mater looked at Finn. "Yeah, Finn?"

"We're not here to go shopping." Finn stated as they turned a corner. 

"Shopping? What do you mean? Why would I-" Mater cut off as he gazed at a giant Parisian market for car parts, named "Marche aux Pieces."

"Dadgum. You gotta be kidding me. They've got everything here. Look at them hoods! I could use a hood." Mater said to himself.

"Don't get distracted, Mater, we're here to meet someone. Not to shop." Leland warned. 

Mater nodded. "Sorry fellers, I gotta go."

Leland continued following Finn and Holley in the marketplace, until Mater pulled up next to him, looking like he had seen a ghost. "Is something wrong?" He inquired.

"Nope. Nothing." Mater replied, obviously trying to forget whatever he just saw.

Finn suddenly saw someone, and halted, reversing out of sight. He used one of his mirrors to get his subject in sight. "There you are." 

Leland and Holley did the same thing, but Mater didn't seem to get the memo as he blazed forward, Leland failing to stop him. "Man, there are some great bargains here!"

"Mater, get back!" Finn ordered in a hushed tone, trying to not blow their cover.

The three-wheeled blue car looked at Mater, who quickly reversed out of the way, but it was too late, as he saw Finn in the reflection of multiple hubcaps. He bolted. 

Finn, Holley, and Leland gave chase.

"Hey, wait for me!" Mater yelled as he tried to catch up.

Leland maneuvered around various tenants and goods as the mysterious three wheeler knocked planks and merchandise in Finn's way. 

Finn and Leland used a plank as a ramp, while Holley turned away from the obstacle in a different direction, Mater following Holley. 

The three wheeler sped up to increase the distance between him and Finn, but Holley soon screeched in his way. He turned to evade Holley, but slipped on his single front tire, tumbling over and crashing into a tire stand.

Holley tazed the three wheeler, until Finn quickly stopped her. "Have you lost your mind!?!" 

"But I thought-" Holley started in protest.

"Mater! This chap needs a tow. Hook him up." Finn ordered.

"Well sure thing!" Mater replied as he hooked the three wheeler's rear bumper. 

All five cars headed to another part of the marketplace while the three wheeler made sounds of protest. "You rusty piece of junk, get your dirty hook off me!" 

"Allez! Maintenant - vite!" Finn shouted at a car inside a small garage.

The three wheeler continued cursing in French as they entered the garage. He turned around swiftly once Mater let him down. "Electroshock! Are you kidding me?" He questioned incredulously at Finn. 

"Easy, Tomber. This is her first field assignment. She didn't know you were my informant." Finn explained.

Then, Tomber recognized Leland. "You didn't do anything to stop her from tazing me either!"

Leland was nonchalant. "You're Finn's informant, not mine." 

"Informant?" Holley echoed, looking shocked.

"A rookie, eh? I never liked new car-smell." Tomber stated as he looked back at Holley.

Holley was displeased, to say the least.

"Tomber was doing 20 to life in a Moroccan impound the first time I saved him, if I recall correctly." Finn remarked.

"Speaking of recalls, you're getting up there in mileage aren't you, Finn?" Tomber inquired. 

Leland rolled his eyes. He had no idea what Finn saw in this shady lowlife. 

Holley seemed to share the same sentiments as she interrupted. "Alright, we get it. You both know each other, you're both old. So." She projected the image of the car engine they analyzed earlier. "There you go, informant. Inform us." 

Tomber recoiled in disgust. "Ugh. That is the worst motor ever made." He suddenly seemed to recognize something in the photo, however. "Wait. That oil filter…those wheel bearings…"

"Do those parts look familiar, Tomber?" Finn asked. 

"They should. I sold them." Tomber responded.

"To whom?" Holley inquired.

"No idea. He's my best customer, but he always does his business over the phone. I was always wondering why he needs so many parts. Now I know." 

"Well, a lemon needs parts. Ain't nothing truer than that." Mater remarked.

"Lemon?" Finn questioned, wondering what Mater meant by that.

"Yeah, you know. Cars that don't ever work right. Lemons is a tow truck's bread and butter. Like them Gremlins and Pacers we run into at the party and the race and the airport."

Leland's eyes widened. "Finn, there's a trend here." 

Finn nodded in agreement. "Definitely, Leland. Holley, pull up the pictures from the oil platform. I want to know what other type of cars were out there."

"Right. Let's see. There were Hugos. And Trunkovs."

"Mater, are these cars considered Lemons?" Finn asked.

"Is the Popemobile Catholic?" Mater responded, confirming that Hugos and Trunkovs, were indeed Lemons.

"Finn. Everyone involved in this plot is one of history's biggest loser cars." Holley pointed out.

"And they're all taking their orders from the car behind this engine." Finn said as the engine photo was pulled up again.

"Ah, this explains it!" Tomber exclaimed.

"What, Tomber?" Finn questioned.

"Gremlin, Pacer, Hugo and Trunkovs never get together. But they're having a secret meeting in two days." Tomber explained.

"Where's this meeting taking place?" 

"Porto Corsa, Italy." 

"That's where the next race is!" Mater realized.

"Then there's a good chance our mystery engine will be there too." Finn surmised.

"Your chances are more than good. I just sent him a new clutch assembly yesterday, to Porto Corsa." Tomber revealed.

"Holley, contact Stephenson and have him meet us at Gare de Lyon. Good work." Finn said.

"On it now." Holley pulled up Stephenson's profile on the spy contact list. 

"You've been a big help, Tomber, thank you." Finn thanked.

"No problem! You gave me a good workout today." Tomber stated.

"I still don't know why you bother to run when we always catch you." Leland said.

"Because it is fun." Tomber smirked.

"Right then. We'll be heading off. I'll see you later when we're in town." Finn waved as they left the garage to head to Gare de Lyon to meet up with Stephenson. 

"Alright, so maybe it was a decent idea to get Tomber involved this time around." Leland admitted. 

Finn chuckled. "He does have inside knowledge that is very valuable to us, as you saw."

"Of course. We haven't seen Stephenson for a while, have we?" 

"No. Poor guy must be bored to death, with his cover running him the same old route from Kent to London."

"Indeed. Should ask C.H.R.O.M.E. to reposition him on another route from London." 

"Stephenson just said that he's about half an hour from Gare de Lyon." Holley updated.

"Thank you. We'll arrive there with a few minutes to spare." Finn calculated as they continued on their way to Gare de Lyon through the streets of Paris. 

They arrived at Gare de Lyon later, and they soon saw Stephenson arriving at the platform. "Ah, Stephenson, how've you been?" Finn greeted.

"Alright. A change of scenery is definitely nice." The spy train replied. 

"Yes, Leland and I were talking about that. Perhaps we could get them to reposition you on the Eurostar route to Paris." 

Stephenson perked up. "That would be nice. Welcome aboard." He said as he opened his doors. 

"Thank you." Leland said as they entered the computer-filled room. 

They soon set off for Porto Corsa, leaving the hustle and bustle of Paris behind.


	8. Mater's Disguise and Valuable Dents

"Boy, I'll tell you what. That three-wheeled feller had to be right about a big meeting. You never see this many lemons in one town. Unless there's a swap meet, or something." Mater remarked as they looked at footage from a Porto Corsa street intersection. "Hey, how'd you get all them pictures?"

"Well, I remotely reprogrammed Porto Corsa's red light cameras to do recognition scans." Holley explained.

"Wow, not only is you the prettiest car I ever met, but you the smartest too."

Leland side eyed Mater, wondering what was up with his flirting with Holley. 

"Thank you. I think." Holley focused her attention back on the camera footage.

"That's a familiar sight. A Hugo being towed. But he looks absolutely perfect!" Mater commented, regarding the image of a Hugo being towed by a blue tow truck.

"Of course. They must be the heads of the lemon families." Finn surmised. 

"Makes sense. If I was rich and broke down every day, I'd hire me to tow me around all the time too." Mater said.

"We've got to infiltrate that meeting. It's the only way to find out who's behind all this." Finn asserted. 

Leland looked between Mater and the tow truck in the image. "I think Mater might be our answer." 

Holley saw it too. "You're right. Hang on a minute." She said as she took Mater's picture, causing him to flinch. 

She grafted Mater's face on the tow truck towing the Hugo, and it looked compatible. 

"Ah. Good job, Miss Shiftwell." Finn complimented.

"Thank you, Finn." Holley replied with a smile.

"Boy, I sure wish my friends could see me now." Mater remarked.

"Finn, one hour to Porto Corsa." Stephenson updated.

"Thank you, Stephenson." Finn replied.

Leland and Finn watched as Holley attached a new emergency light to Mater's head.

"Yeah, I think that should just about do it." Holley said as she looked at Mater.

"Perfect." Finn said.

"So Mater, it's voice-activated. But you know, everything's voice-activated these days." Holley informed Mater.

"What? I thought you was supposed to be making me a disguise." Mater was confused, until his onboard computer put on the disguise that made him look like the Hugo's tow truck.

"Wow. It's very convincing." Leland commented.

"I know, right?" Finn agreed.

Mater was elated. "Cool! Hey, computer. Make me a German truck!" 

He was now wearing lederhosen and a German hat. "Check it out. I'm wearing Materhosen. Make me a monster truck!"

He now looked like Dracula. "I vant to siphon your gas. Now make me a taco truck!" 

Leland was unamused. Holley seemed to share his sentiments as well, though Finn had a light smile as he found amusement in the situation. 

"If he does this during the Lemon meeting, we're finished." Leland stated.

"Aw, let him have a little fun, Leland." 

However, Mater went through a few more ridiculous "disguises," and Finn decided that was enough as he pushed a button, removing the disguise. "The idea is to keep a low profile, Mater." He said as he reinstated the original disguise of the Hugo's tow truck.

"So I just go in, and pretend to be this truck." Mater recalled.

"And leave the rest to us." Finn added.

"Now hold still. I have to do the final fitting on your disguise." Holley calibrated the hologram, but dents showed through the disguise. 

"Oh dear. That's no good." She said as she moved a robotic arm towards one of Mater's dents. 

Mater visibly pulled away. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"The disguise won't calibrate effectively without a smooth surface to graft onto." Holley explained.

"Oh. For a second there I thought you was trying to fix my dents."

"Yes, I was." 

"Well then no thank you. I don't get them dents buffed, pulled, filled or painted by nobody. They're way too valuable." Mater stated.

Leland and Finn looked over at that. Valuable dents?

"Your dents are valuable? Really?" Holley questioned.

"I come by each one of them with my best friend Lightning McQueen. I don't fix these. I want to remember these dents forever."

"So you were being serious in Paris? McQueen isn't just part of your cover?" Holley couldn't believe it.

"Friendships can be dangerous in our line of work, Mater." Finn warned.

"But aren't you friends with Leland over there?"

"I'm sorry?" 

Mater shrugged. "I mean, you two seem close to me. Like me and Lightning." 

Leland chuckled. "If I know Finn, he would describe us as very close coworkers, if anything." Of course, that wasn't how he saw Finn. 

Finn was silent as he heard what Leland said. He didn't want to confirm that, but he didn't want to deny it either. Did he really just see them as coworkers? Did he give off that impression over the time he's known Leland?

Luckily, Mater changed the subject. "Alright then, but my line of work is towing and salvage." 

Finn snapped back to reality when Mater spoke. "Right. And Miss Shiftwell's is designing iPhone apps." 

"No, I meant for real. I-"

"It's okay. Say no more. I'll work around the dent." Holley interrupted as she went back to working on the computer. 

"In the meantime…" Finn said as he pushed a button, revealing a massive amount of various weapons. "You look a little light on weapons." 

"When I say 'shoot,' I don't mean I actually shoot." Mater clarified.

"Nonsense. You have some sort of experience. Now, Gatling guns, rockets, and a parachute should be good to start." Finn stated.

"Sounds about right." Leland agreed.


	9. Defeat in Porto Corsa

Leland and Finn waited under an umbrella looking over a ledge at the race track, as Holley distracted the tow truck Mater was to replace. "Get ready, Mater. You're on any moment now." Finn told Mater over radio. 

"I don't know about this, Finn. What if I screw things up?" Mater speculated, unsure of himself.

"Impossible. Just apply the same level of dedication you've been using to play the 'idiot tow truck' and you'll be fine." 

"It's just that them guys look pretty tough and-" Mater cut off as he realized what Finn said. "Wait, did you say 'idiot?' Is that how you see me?"

"That's how everyone sees you. Isn't that the idea? I tell you, that's the genius of it. No one realizes they're being fooled because they're too busy laughing at the fool. Brilliant." Finn replied as he cut off the radio link.

Leland looked concerned. "I sure hope that he took that the right way, Finn."

"What do you mean? I was complimenting his cover." Finn explained, unsure as to what Leland was getting at.

"I don't know. He seemed a bit sad when he asked if that was how you saw him." 

"He's just anxious, is all. Probably not as seasoned as we are." Finn stated as they watched the race cars go by on the race track. 

"Right." Leland agreed, dropping the subject. What Finn said made sense.

Holley reunited with the two right after he said that. "He's in." She pulled up a holographic display showing Mater's location.

"Wow, this place looks like it's made out of gold." Mater commented. 

"That's because it is, Mater. Now, be careful what you say." Holley replied, not wanting to blow their cover.

"Why is that?" Mater asked.

Holley looked distressed. "Stop talking to me!"

"What do you mean don't talk to you?" 

"You're blowing our cover!" 

"So you want me to stop talking to you. Right now?"

"You are acting strange today, Ivan." Alexander Hugo interrupted. 

Mater suddenly realized what he was doing. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Alexander Hugo, aka 'Chop Shop Alex.' Hey, you got a lot of aka's, Alex. But I guess that makes sense seeing how you's wanted in France, Germany, the Czech Republic…" 

Holley visibly panicked, thinking that their cover was blown. "Mater, stop it!" 

"Okay, okay. Keep your voice down. You're gonna make me arrested. Don't mess with Ivan today. He's in a bad mood." Alexander Hugo replied, as Holley's mouth was agape in shock.

Leland couldn't believe that went well, either. The American spy was definitely unconventional in his techniques, but they surprisingly worked.

"He's so good." Finn remarked, obviously impressed by Mater's espionage skills.

Mater soon entered the meeting room in the casino, and took his place as everyone anticipated the leader of the Lemons' arrival. 

"Here we go." Finn said as they waited, only to be disappointed when Professor Z showed up.

However, a monitor soon descended from the ceiling, revealing the same engine from the photo. The voice from the video feed as the leader spoke was heavily scrambled, though. 

"Descramble that voice." Finn ordered Holley.

"I'm trying…ugh, it's too sophisticated." Holley replied, frustrated as she worked on the holographic display. 

Meanwhile, an orange Toyota Corolla meandered around cars in Porto Corsa, looking for Finn McMissile. The extra number of cars here due to the race made it hard, however, as Rod sighed in frustration. Time was of the essence; a civilian was in his spot, and the longer he took, the longer that civilian was endangered. 

Leland, Finn, and Holley listened to the garbled voice making a speech on how lemons were treated like dirt, and how that would end, when Carla Veloso's engine blew, sending her flying into a guardrail.

"What just happened?" Finn asked.

Holley was busy analyzing the data. "I'm working on it." 

They soon saw another racer crash as his engine blew: Nigel Gearsley. Leland's eyes narrowed as he watched this unfold. "There's a trend here. The same thing happened in Tokyo." 

"Holley!" Finn said with more urgency. They needed to get to the bottom of this.

"I'm detecting an extremely strong electromagnetic pulse." Holley said as she traced the beam to a camera, which matched the camera from the oil platform. "Finn, it's the camera!"

"Where?"

"On the tower." 

Finn saw the tower Holley was referring to, and recognized Grem and Acer. "Leland, let's go." He said as he took off. 

Leland followed, maneuvering around various tourists and locals. "Move it!" 

"Get out of the way! Andate!" Finn yelled as he tried to reach the camera before any more lives were endangered.

Leland drove down house roofs when Finn did, keeping his balance as they took the fastest route possible. He crossed several narrow street intersections, driving up one final roof as they saw Grem and Acer behind the camera. 

He and Finn looked at each other, nodded, and pounced toward Grem and Acer…only to be sucked up by a car magnet.

"We figured you might stop by." Acer taunted as they turned back to the camera. 

Both of them struggled as they were lifted higher in the air, but were powerless to do anything. Leland tried to deploy his machine guns, but they wouldn't deploy from the magnetic force. They soon saw them aiming at the Japanese racer, Shu Todoroki.

"No!" Finn exclaimed, horrified that he and Leland had failed to stop their scheme.

Leland watched with resigned terror as Shu Todoroki's engine exploded, causing a five car pile up in the process. "I can't believe that we were fooled, this time." 

Finn was silent as he couldn't believe what had just happened, either.

Rod's attention towards finding Finn McMissile was temporarily shifted to the five car pile up, but he soon returned to searching for him, only to see him and Leland hanging from a car magnet attached to a helicopter. _That can't be him. He's not one to be captured, right?_ He thought, but his eyes did not deceive him.

He followed where the helicopter with Finn and Leland was going on the ground, so that he wouldn't lose sight of them, until he saw a purple car being trapped by Hugos and a tow truck, but not the tow truck that he passed the device to. 

He backed away as he didn't want to be seen, but it was too late, as he backed into multiple Pacers. He turned around in horror. How could he be so careless? "And what are you looking at? Get him!" 

He and Holley were soon thrown into a transport truck nearby, and the door was shut, leaving them in darkness. 

Holley was horrified that she had dragged an "innocent civilian" into this whole mess. "I'm sorry that you were involved. This should've never regarded you." 

Rod realized that this purple car must be an affiliate of Finn McMissile, but he stayed silent, as he wasn't sure if they were monitoring the conversation inside the trailers. The truth would come out later. He wouldn't have been able to say anything, anyway, as knockout gas soon filled the trailer, making both of them pass out. 

Leland and Finn were in no better position, as they were dropped from the car magnet and shoved into a trailer as well. 

"You think this is our last mission, Finn?" Leland asked, feeling downcast.

"Nonsense. We'll make it out, once they bring us to wherever they're transporting us." Finn replied, trying to sound optimistic.

"I hope you're right." Leland replied, just as the knockout gas started to flow.

Finn chuckled, trying to make light of a situation that was getting worse. "Well, at least we won't be awake for…the…ride…" 

Both spies passed out, as the transport truck set out for London.


	10. Trapped inside Big Bentley

Finn was the first to wake up, slowly opening his eyes to gears surrounding him. He immediately recognized that he was inside a clock tower, and from the view from the inside of the clock face, it was Big Bentley.

He soon realized that he was tied to a clock gear, and that he wasn't alone. Leland was one notch down behind him, and there was an orange Toyota Corolla next to him who he didn't recognize, leaving Holley behind him since he felt a bumper against his. He looked up and saw Mater, hanging from a rope pulley. 

He soon saw Leland beginning to stir, not long after he woke up. "Leland? Are you awake?"

"Finn? We're in Big Bentley?" Leland asked, disorientated.

"Indeed we are. Tied to a clock gear, at that." 

Leland sighed. "Great. Just great. Now, what's the escape plan?" 

Finn was taken aback by the question. "I'm sorry?" 

"You said that we'd make it out once they bring us wherever they're transporting us." 

"I only said that to make myself and yourself feel better." Finn admitted. "I could try and formulate one, but I'd have no better ideas than you have." 

"I never imagined that we'd return home like this." Leland stated.

"Me neither…" Finn said as they suddenly moved, the gear clicking forward, signalling a minute had passed. 

"I'd reckon from the size of the gear we're on we have eleven minutes." 

"You have eleven, I have ten." Finn corrected. "It's been an honor going on this mission with you, though." 

"Don't say that, Finn. It makes the fact that we're going to die all the more terrifying." Leland responded.

"Believe me, I feel it too. I've enjoyed all the missions we've gone on together, best friend." 

"Yeah, they were-" Leland cut off as he realized what Finn just said. "What did you say?" 

Finn chuckled. "I guess you could say that Mater's left an impression. I figured that I should let you know now that I consider us best friends." 

Leland managed to smile amidst the situation they were in. "I'm…very glad that we are best friends. I feel the same way." 

"I would give you one more tire bump if I could." Finn stated.

"It's quite alright. I am content just because you said that." Leland replied, just as their gear moved forward by another minute.

The force of the gear moving caused Holley to wake up. "We are _not_ inside Big Bentley, and strapped to a clock gear." 

"I'm afraid we are, Miss Shiftwell." Leland replied. 

That left only Mater and Rod, the two Americans, still sleeping.

"Do we have a way out?" Holley inquired.

"Not that we can think of, at the moment." Finn said.

Holley was pensive as she thought of different solutions to escape. "How much time do we have?" 

"You and I have nine minutes. Lucky Leland and the Corolla have one more. By the way, who is the Corolla?" Finn questioned as he looked at said Corolla on his right.

"I've no idea. He was a civilian that saw me get caught by Ivan and the Hugos. They took him as well." Holley recounted. 

"Great. We just wrapped a civilian into this whole mess." Leland lamented as the gear shifted by one more minute. "And he's probably about to wake up." 

Indeed, Rod slowly opened his eyes as he woke up. "…Where am I?" He simply asked.

"Inside Big Bentley, about to be crushed by a clock gear. You weren't supposed to be involved in our business. I'm very sorry." Finn apologized. 

Rod recognized Finn McMissile immediately as he spoke on his left. "I did not pay for my own plane ticket to meet up with you, just to be killed." 

"I'm sorry, what?" Leland piped up from behind Rod. "What are you talking about?"

Rod sighed. May as well spill the beans since they were about to die, anyway. "I'm Rod 'Torque' Redline. The American agent you were supposed to meet in Tokyo, McMissile. No, this is not what I look like. I'm still in disguise." 

Finn's mouth was agape. Then who was Mater? "You're two cities late, if you're who I was supposed to meet." 

"Actually, it was one. You were already stuck to a car magnet when I reached Porto Corsa, though. Look, in Tokyo, Grem and Acer got to me before I could hand you the device. So I stuck it on that tow truck up there, in hopes that you'd get it. Looks like you did." Rod explained.

"You gave spy equipment to a civilian?" Holley was astonished.

"Hey, I had an opportunity, and I took it, alright? He was the only one I could attach the device to since I wasn't going to be meeting up with Finn anytime soon. I assumed with him being a tow truck and all, he'd answer the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia question correctly by accident, and you'd manage to get the intel you needed. You didn't think that he was me, did you?" 

There was silence from all three spies before Finn coughed. "All three of us thought that he was you." 

"Chrysler…he may as well be a spy if he's still intact after all this time." Rod remarked, as a gong sounded from the clock, finally waking Mater up. 

"Holley! Finn! Leland! Uh…whoever you are. Where are we?" 

"We're in London, Mater. Inside Big Bentley." Finn replied, as they shifted forward another turn, and Mater dropped down, closer to the gears.

Mater was despondent. "This is all my fault."

"Don't be a fool, Mater." Finn said.

"But I am, remember? You said so." Mater pointed out.

"When did I-Oh. Mater, I was complimenting you on what a good spy you are."

"I told you that he didn't take it well." Leland said. 

"I'm not a spy!" Mater shouted, as it reverberated around the clock. 

Finn sighed. "We know." 

"Wait, what?" Mater thought that they didn't know.

"This chap here is the American who planted the device on you in the Tokyo bathroom. He told us everything while you were asleep." 

"…He doesn't look like him." Mater pointed out, looking confused.

"I'm still in disguise." Rod explained.

The sound of a lift rang through the clock, and Grem and Acer arrived.

"Good, you're up." Grem said.

"And just in time!" Acer added.

"Professor Z wanted you to have a front row seat for the death of Lightning McQueen." Grem explained.

"He's still alive?" Mater inquired.

"Not for much longer." Acer said as Grem aimed the camera outside.

Mater dropped lower towards the gears, as all four spies ticked closer to getting crushed.

They waited for the race to start, and the sound of car engines could soon be heard as Lightning McQueen inevitably approached Big Bentley. 

"Here he comes." Grem said as he aimed the World Grand Prix camera at the American racer, but he was dumbfounded when nothing happened after he shot the electromagnetic pulse.

"What happened!?!" Professor Z squawked over the radio.

"I don't know, Professor." Grem responded.

"What did you do?" Acer demanded.

"It didn't work!" Professor Z yelled.

"I didn't do nothin'! Shh! I'm talking to the Professor." Grem ordered Acer. "What's that, Professor Z?" 

"You broke it!" Acer accused.

"Quiet!" Grem yelled. "I understand, sir, yes." 

"What'd he say?" Acer asked, after Grem hung up.

"We go to the back up plan." 

"Back up plan?" Mater asked. 

"We snuck a bomb in McQueen's pit!" Grem revealed.

"The next time he makes a stop, instead of saying 'ka-chow,' he's gonna go 'ka-boom!'" Acer taunted.

Both of them laughed. "Don't feel bad, tow truck. You couldn't have saved him." Grem said with mock kindness.

"Oh, wait. You could have!" Acer stated as both of them laughed.

"Dadgum lemons!" Mater's guns activated, but they spun in place, with no bullets.

"What, you didn't think we'd take your bullets?" Grem asked.

"That's right! You got nothing!" Acer reiterated, laughing as both headed back to the elevator. 

"Who's the lemon now, huh?" Grem taunted, just before they were out of sight as they descended on the elevator.

"Nice try, Mater." Finn said.

"Indeed. Good thinking to use your weapons." Leland agreed.

Mater, however, was not to be deterred, as he repeated "dadgum" over and over again, until the spinning of his guns broke him free of his ropes. 

"Mater!" Holley called out in fear as Mater quickly traversed the spinning machinery, making it onto the catwalk. 

"I gotta get you all out of there!" Mater exclaimed.

"There's no time. McQueen needs your help, Mater." Finn said.

"But I can't, I'm just a tow truck."

"It's up to you. Go to the pits and get everyone out. You can do that." Finn instructed.

"What about you guys?" Mater asked, concerned for their well being.

"We'll be okay." Finn asserted.

Leland glanced over at Finn, knowing that was a flat out lie.

"Go and get some more dents, Mater." Holley said.

That seemed to convince the tow truck, as he quickly left to go save everyone in the pits. 

"So we'll be okay? Really?" Holley asked hopefully.

"Finn, you didn't mean that, did you." Leland looked at Finn solemnly.

Rod was silent as he hoped that the tow truck would be able to get everyone out of the pits before the bomb exploded.

"He wouldn't have left if I'd told him the truth." Finn admitted. "Being killed by a clock. Gives a whole new meaning to 'your time has come.'"

"Time. That's it!" Holley exclaimed as she took out her electroshockers, firing them at a gearbox, but missing.

"What are you doing?" Finn questioned.

"Trying to turn back time." Holley said as she missed again. The gear turned again, and Holley and Finn were one turn away from being crushed to death, while Leland and Rod looked on in horror. 

"If I can just reverse the polarity…" Holley finally managed to shock the gearbox, making the gears go in reverse. 

"Good job! Quick thinking, Holley!" Finn complimented. 

However, they were approaching another gear, and Leland and Rod were going to be crushed first this time. "Oh no…" Holley groaned.

"Everyone, drive! Burn rubber!" Finn shouted. 

The four spies managed to make a large enough gap between them, so that the gear freed Leland and Rod first, then Holley and Finn. 

Leland let out a huge sigh when he landed on the catwalk with Holley. "Wow. That worked; we're alive." 

"Indeed, we are. It's never felt so good to be alive." Finn agreed. 

Rod took the opportunity to remove his disguise, revealing the blue American muscle car underneath. 

"Oh. Mr. Redline." Finn said in surprise. 

"Call me Rod. And yeah, now you've seen everything." He said as all four spies reunited on the catwalk from opposite sides. 

"We've got to get to the course. Calculate the fastest way to-" Finn cut off as Holley popped wings out of her side doors. 

"Done." Holley stated.

"Oh. Miss Shiftwell." Finn said, echoing his reaction to Rod.

"They're standard issue now." 

"You kids get all the good hardware." Finn remarked.

"Yeah, we should get-Wait, what's that?" Leland asked, pointing at an air filter on the ground with a tire. 

"Oh no. That's Mater's!" Holley exclaimed.

"I knew his escape was too easy." Finn thought aloud. 

"We've got to warn him. Now!" Leland asserted.

"Holley can fly there the quickest. Us old guys will have to take the ramp." Rod said as all four spies quickly headed out to warn Mater. 

"Agreed, but speak for yourself…" Leland quipped as they headed down the ramp.


	11. London Pursuit

Holley flew out of Big Bentley, while Leland, Finn, and Rod took to the streets of London to reach the race course. 

"What's the game plan?" Rod inquired as they maneuvered around shocked cars, Holley flying overhead.

"We've got to get to the race course to stop the Lemons." Leland stated. 

"I'll warn him over radio." Finn said before he turned on the radio link. "Mater!" 

"Finn! You're okay!"

"Mater, listen to me. The bomb is on you. They knew you'd try to help McQueen. When we were knocked out they planted it in your air filter."

"Uh oh." Mater seemed to realize had a bomb planted on him. 

To further complicate things, Mater left the radio link on, and Lightning McQueen's voice could be heard while Mater told him to stay away. 

"Oh dear…" Holley increased the thrust to her engines as she tried to get to the race track faster.

"Chrysler, how far is this race track? We have to get to McQueen first to explain." Rod said.

"We're almost there…" Finn responded. 

They heard Mater peel out from the pits, and considering Lightning's voice could still be heard, he was following him.

"…And he's gone from the pits. Why us?" Leland lamented. 

"We're here." Finn said as they neared the back of the pits.

Holley flew up to where Professor Z was, and aimed her electroshockers at him, causing him to flee by driving through a window onto an inflatable globe, making a run for it.

"Holley. Leland and I will get Zundapp, you and Rod help Mater." Finn ordered.

"Got it!" Holley replied, as she flew towards the race track.

Rod quickly entered the race track from the pits, retracing where Mater was to catch up. 

"And now who's that Dodge Challenger on the track?" Brent Mustangburger wondered.

"I don't know, Brent, but he sure ain't a racer! After all that's been going on, anything can happen!" Darrell Cartrip commentated, still somehow managing to be lively.

Rod and Holley passed Francesco at the same time, scaring the living daylights out of the Italian racer. 

Meanwhile, Finn and Leland leaped off of a bridge, landing on the ground while chasing Professor Z. 

Finn used his grappling hooks to drag Professor Z towards him, and Leland did the same to Finn to provide extra pulling force. 

"Do you really think I'm going to let you float away, Professor?" Finn questioned.

Suddenly, the combat ship held up a car magnet, pulling all three cars towards it. Leland yanked backwards with all his might, but it was no use. 

The combat ship aimed a laser at Finn's hood, and fired two rockets, destroying the bricks underneath their tires. 

"Give it up, McMissile!" Professor Z was sure that the car magnet could not be beaten. 

"Wait, if everything metal is being sucked toward the magnet…" Leland suddenly had an idea. "Finn, the grenades." 

Finn nodded as both cars released the grenades from their hubcaps, almost covering the entire magnet with grenades.

They exploded, freeing all three cars from the magnet's grasp. Leland unhooked Finn as he took care of entangling Professor Z in grappling hooks, to ensure that he couldn't escape.

"Holley, where are they? I still have no visual." Rod was tearing through the streets of London, probably going more than double the speed limit as he tried to find Mater and McQueen. 

"They're approaching Victoria Street and Brogden Lane." Holley updated.

It was a good thing Rod was close to there. "On it." 

He soon saw Holley flying overhead, and he turned a street corner and saw Mater and McQueen, the tow truck using his rockets in an attempt to evade McQueen.

"Mater, stop!" Holley pleaded.

"No way! You could get hurt!" Mater sped up. 

Holley looked frustrated before she saw something ahead of them. "Oh no…"

"What is it?" Rod inquired.

"Grem and Acer. I'm on it." Holley replied as she sped ahead. 

Rod nodded as he focused his efforts on keeping track of where Mater and McQueen were, before they stopped as Holley landed.

"Mater, we've got to get that bomb off you." Holley was already scanning the bomb, seeing what she could do.

"Bomb!?!" Lightning exclaimed, shocked that his tow truck friend had a bomb on him, and that he was being serious when he said that he was the bomb.

"Yeah, they strapped it to me to kill you as a back-up plan." Mater explained.

"Back-up plan? Mater, who put a bomb on you?" Lightning questioned.

As if on cue, Finn and Leland showed up, Professor Z entangled in grappling hooks.

"You. Why didn't my death ray kill you?" Professor Z leered menacingly at Lightning McQueen, until he saw Rod behind Lightning and Mater. "And you're supposed to be dead!" 

"Sorry to disappoint." Rod smirked as he stared the Professor down. 

Lightning had no idea what was going on. "Death ray!?!"

"Turn off the bomb, Zundapp!" Finn ordered.

"Are you all so dense? It's voice-activated. Everything is voice-activated these days."

Mater panicked. "Deactivate! Deactivate!"

The bomb became a time bomb as Mater's voice was denied, and it became a time bomb, counting down from five minutes. Mater gasped in horror.

"Oops. Did I forget to mention that it can only be disarmed by the one who activated it?" Professor Z taunted.

Holley immediately held Professor Z up at gunpoint. "Say it!" 

"Deactivate." 

Professor Z's voice was denied, and the bomb took away a minute from the countdown.

"I am not the one who activated it. Would anyone else like to try?" Professor Z was smug. That is, until he was shocked unconscious by Holley.

"You read my mind." Finn said with a slight smirk.

"Ugh, he was getting on my nerves."

"What do we do?" Lightning asked.

"It's very simple. You blow up." Victor Hugo said, as they were now surrounded by the Gremlin, Pacer, Hugo, and Trunkov families.

"Wait, that is Rod Redline. He is dead!" One of the Gremlins pointed out. 

Rod chuckled. This was the fun part, when the enemy is astonished that you're not dead. "It takes a lot more than a single missile to kill a spy." 

"I'm gonna go out on a limb here. These are the guys that want me dead, correct?" Lightning asked.

"It's nothing personal." Vladimir Trunkov said. 

"Fellers, listen." Mater said as he readied himself to make an emotional speech. "I know what you're going through. Everybody's been laughing at me my whole life too, but becoming powerful and rich beyond your wildest dreams ain't gonna make you feel better." 

There was a brief silence, where it seemed that the heads of the Lemon families might have actually had a change of heart. That is, until J. Curby Gremlin spoke. "Yeah, but it's worth a shot." 

Before he could do anything, he was broadsided by a powerful stream of water from Red, followed by Sally.

Finn used his grappling hooks to take out multiple Lemons at once, slamming them together. 

Holley took out her wings, and knocked two Pacers on their side. 

Leland grabbed one of the Trunkovs, and threw them into two Hugos. 

"This time, we're gonna make sure you stay dead." One of the Gremlins threatened Rod.

Rod wasn't having it, as he took out his pistol and fired at the Gremlins who were encroaching menacingly towards him. "I've learned from my mistakes." 

Guido soon arrived, and took off two Lemons' tires. "Pit stop."

Flo blinded Vladimir Trunkov with her high beams, while Sheriff put a tire boot on him. "Not today, boys!"

Mater proved that he had actual karate skills by kicking several Lemons out of the way, grappling Tubbs Pacer with his tow hook and throwing him at Ramone, who spray painted his eyes.

"Retreat!" He yelled, but they were soon stopped by a blockade of the British military, led by Sarge.


	12. The Revelation and Mater's Knighting

All of the spies were outside a partition separating Lightning, Mater, Luigi, and Guido from everyone else.

"I really hope that forklift friend of his can remove the bomb." Leland watched Guido trying every wrench to remove the bolts. 

Finn sighed. "Me too, Leland. It frustrates me that we still don't know who activated the bomb, though." 

Holley was still studying the engine photo. "If it's not Professor Z, I'm not sure who it could be."

Leland's eyes widened as Mater suddenly hooked Lightning again, and they were heading straight for the barrier. "You all? Mater's-" He cut off as they broke through the barrier, heading off somewhere.

Rod looked on in confusion. Where could they be headed? 

"Where's he going?" Finn wondered as he headed off to follow him, the other three spies following suit.

"He's airborne." Holley updated. "Judging by his heading, he's heading to…Buckingham Palace?" 

"Why would he be heading there?" Finn was deeply concerned, since Mater had a bomb, and that area was densely packed with cars. Not to mention the entire royal family was there.

"I've no idea, but we'd better get there before he does!" Leland sped up as they approached Buckingham Palace. 

"Y'all? I think we're too late." Rod saw a bunch of cars quickly fleeing from the vicinity of Buckingham Palace. They must've seen the bomb on Mater.

Finn quickly made his way to the raised platform where Mater was. "Hold your fire! He can't disarm it! Mater, I don't know what you're doing, but stand down, now!" He ordered.

"This ain't nothing at all like Radiator Springs…" 

Lightning was aware that the situation was going from bad to worse. "Mater, just cut to the chase!"

"Okay." Mater pointed with a tire at Miles Axlerod. "It's him." He accused.

Miles nervously laughed. "What? Me? You've got to be crazy."

Finn and Holley exchanged confused looks while Leland just stared at Mater like he was crazy. What evidence did he have for that? 

However, Rod's eyes narrowed as he caught Miles glancing specifically at him, nervously. It could be a coincidence, but he was the one who infiltrated the oil platform the deepest, and got the engine photo. 

"I figured it out when I realized you all attached this ticking time bomb with Whitworth bolts. The same bolts that hold together that old British engine from the photograph. Holley! Show that picture."

"Okay…" Holley hesitantly pulled it up on her holographic display.

"And then I remembered what they say about old British engines. 'If there ain't no oil under `em, there ain't no oil in `em.'"

"What is he talking about?" Miles questioned, seemingly having no knowledge of what Mater was referring to. 

"It was you leaking oil at the party in Japan. You just blamed it on me." 

"Electric cars don't use oil, you twit." Miles retorted, breaking from his friendly outward demeanor.

"Then you're faking it. You didn't convert to no electric. We pop that hood we gonna see that engine from that picture right there." Mater asserted.

_If Mater is wrong about this, he's going to die. He must be very sure that Miles Axlerod is the culprit._ Leland thought. What he had said made sense for the most part. Miles Axelrod was a former oil baron, but faking converting to electric? Really?

"This lorry's crazy. He's going to kill us all! Stay away!" Miles yelled as he backed up to the edge of the stage.

"But Sir Axlerod created the race, Mater. Why would he want to hurt anyone?" Holley pointed out.

"To make Allinol look bad so everybody'd go back to using oil. I mean, he said it himself with that disguised voice." Mater replied.

"'Dee-sguised voice?' What are you talking about? You're nuts, you are!" Miles asserted.

"Mater, he created Allinol." Finn stated, obviously unsure if what Mater was saying was right. 

"Indeed. Why would he destroy something that he created himself?" Leland asked.

"Yeah, but what if he found that huge oil field just as the world was trying to find something else? What if he came up with Allinol just to make alternative fuel look bad?" Mater postulated.

"'What if?' You're basing this on a 'what if!?!'" 

The Queen's guards had enough, and they quickly evacuated everyone there, save for the spies, Lightning, and Miles.

"Wait! Somebody save me! The lorry's crazy! Keep away, you idiot!" Miles ordered as he was cornered by Mater. 

"Mater!" Finn warned, as the bomb was now counting down from ten seconds. 

"Mater!" Holley warned as well.

"Someone do something!" Miles said frantically.

Finn, Holley, Leland, Rod, and Lightning shut their eyes as they braced for the impending explosion. 

"You're insane, you are! Deactivate!" Miles yelled.

The bomb immediately deactivated, with one second left on the timer. 

"Blimey, he was right!" Leland exclaimed.

Mater lifted Miles's hood while he was surrounded by police, revealing the engine from the photo. 

"The engine from the photo." Finn stated, as he glared at Miles for endangering so many lives for money.

"It's a perfect match." Holley pointed out as she pulled up the engine photo again. 

"He actually got it. Impressive." Rod remarked. 

"How did the tow truck figure it out?" Miles wondered as he was led away by police.

* * *

All four spies waited in the main ballroom of Buckingham Palace, right at the front as they waited for Mater to enter for his knighting.

“You know, even though I’ve been here a couple of times, the grandness of Buckingham Palace never ceases to amaze me.” Finn remarked.

“Agreed, Finn. It’s definitely an honor to be here once again.” Leland concurred.

“Never been here before, so I’d say it’s even more of an honor for me.” Rod stated.

“Definitely. It was nice of her Majesty to offer an honorary knighthood to Mater.” Holley said.

“It’s a well deserved one, though, figuring everything out on the spot like that.” Finn then looked at the doors like everyone else when they opened, and Lightning and Mater drove through.

“I hereby dub thee, Sir Tow Mater.” The Queen said as she tapped both of Mater’s headlights.

Everyone cheered and clapped in celebration.

“‘Sir?’ Shoot, you can just call me Mater, your Majesty. I don't wanna hear none of this ‘Sir’ business. By the way, have y'all met each other?” Mater asked as Lightning and Finn drove up.

“Queen? McQueen. McQueen, Queen. McQueen? McMissile. McMissile, McQueen. Queen? McMissile.”

Finn chuckled as Mater introduced them by their confusing last names. Of course, he knew the Queen already since he was a British spy, but it was alright to be introduced again. “Thank you, Mater. Quickest introduction I’ve ever heard.”

“Congrats, Mater. You may as well be a spy for figuring out it was Axlerod the whole time before we did.” Rod said.

“Aw, shucks. Thanks! Sorry for, you know, taking your place.” 

“Hey, if you didn’t, we might not have figured it out.” Rod pointed out. “I came in when it counted.”

“Y’all should head down to Radiator Springs when you have a break!” Mater suggested. 

“A break? What’s that?” Leland joked.

“Aw, it’s not that bad, Leland. When it's convenient, you can call us anytime, and we'll see if we can make it." Finn told Mater.

"Call?" Mater asked.

"Well, you still have the radio link and email." Holley pointed out.

"Ah, yeah, I do." Mater realized. 

"Enough about us, Mater, you should go talk to your friends. They were probably worried sick." Leland said. 

"Are you sure?" 

Rod nodded. "Yeah, if we're going to head over to Radiator Springs at some point, we'll see you again."

Mater turned around to go catch up with his friends, since he hadn't seen them ever since Tokyo.

"So, now that all of that is over, what'd I miss?" Rod asked the three British spies.

Finn laughed. "A lot, Rod. So much that we'd have to take turns to explain everything." 

"Well, we can do that. I'll volunteer to start. After you put the device on Mater, Holley went up to him…" Leland started.

Finn went next, talking about how they picked Mater up from Haneda, and went to Paris to meet up with his informant. Holley finished with what happened in Porto Corsa, something that Rod was already sort of familiar with. 

"Wow, so you weren't kidding when you said you thought Mater was the American spy." 

"Yep. Poor chap got dragged into everything, and we wouldn't listen." Finn said.

"Say, how did you escape when Grem and Acer found you in the bathroom?" Leland inquired.

"They took me to this industrial dock outside Tokyo. Questioned me about who I gave the device to. I guess you could blame me for endangering the tow truck in the first place…" 

"You told them!?!" Holley exclaimed. 

"No! Well, sort of…I did a slight double take by accident when they pulled up his picture from surveillance cameras. I couldn't help it, alright? Anyway, they surrounded me with guns and fired. I drove backwards into the water, they shot a missile at me, and I faked my death with a hologram. Pretty impressive, considering I was already beaten up by them at that point. I reached Chiba on the other side, and flew to Porto Corsa to meet y'all."

"I think you stole the method of escaping by faking your own death from Leland and I." Finn stated. "You must've seen us while you were undercover." 

Rod rolled his eyes. "Hey, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? It works." 

"I suppose you're not wrong there. When do you have to head back to America?" Leland asked.

"Not for a week, at least. CIA let me have it easy when I told 'em I was rolling with you guys for a while." 

"When we head to Radiator Springs to visit, we'll drop you off in Washington on the way back, how's that sound?" Finn offered.

"Sounds great. Thanks, McMissile." 

"No problem. Ah, it seems that everyone is leaving." Finn saw cars starting to file out of the ballroom.

"Yeah, we should probably get going. C.H.R.O.M.E. headquarters isn't too far from here, right?" Holley asked.

"Not at all. It'll be nice, finally going home." Leland said as they left amongst the cars.

Finn nodded. "Definitely."


	13. Arrival in Radiator Springs

A small jolt ran through Siddeley's interior as he touched down in the desert outside Radiator Springs. "We've arrived, Finn." 

"Thank you, Sid!" Finn replied as Siddeley lowered the tail ramp, allowing the four spies to exit. 

"I'll go on ahead to greet them first?" Holley suggested.

"You don't need an excuse to fly, Holley, go on ahead." Finn replied as he laughed. 

"We really should ask them to equip us with wings…" Leland complained.

"Aw, Leland, are you jealous?" Finn teased.

"Aren't you?" 

"I suppose you've got me there." Finn conceded as they drove towards Route 66 to meet up with Holley. 

"This really is a town in the middle of nowhere, huh?" Rod commented.

"I like it. Quite quaint." Finn opined.

They soon approached a small crowd of cars around Flo's V8 Cafe, probably listening to Mater tell a story, from how animated he was. 

"Oh, Minny, please. Come on, none of this happened. Rocket jets? Flying spy cars?" A skeptical minivan questioned.

"No, you're quite right. It does sound a bit far-fetched." Holley agreed as she landed in the middle of the road. 

"Holley! What're you doing here?" Mater asked, as he drove up to greet her.

"Hello, Mater. It's so good to see you again." Holley greeted.

Finn, Leland, and Rod pulled up next to Holley as she spoke. 

"Finn! Leland! Rod!" Mater greeted.

"Our satellites picked up an urgent communique." Finn explained.

Luigi smiled. "So you got my email." 

"Oh, man. Y'all is gonna have a great time! Everybody! This here's Finn McMissile. He's a secret agent. Don't tell nobody." Mater introduced.

"Uh…Mater does know the meaning of 'secret,' right?" Leland whispered to Rod.

Rod laughed. "Obviously not." 

"And this is Holley Shiftwell. She's-" 

"I'm Mater's girlfriend. It's so nice to meet you all." Holley interrupted.

Rod looked between Mater and Holley, in shock. "…I missed something pretty drastic that y'all didn't tell me about." He whispered to Leland.

"I'll explain later…" Leland replied. 

Guido was obviously shocked as his forklift arms hit the ground. 

"Guido believe you now." Luigi translated.

"Whoa, honey. You got a nasty dent there." Flo pointed out.

"Yeah." Holley looked back at it now that Flo had pointed it out.

"Was that from when you swooped in, and saved them in London?" The skeptical minivan from before asked, obviously not so skeptical anymore.

"Van!" Minny warned.

"What? I'm just asking."

"Don't you worry, sweet pea. My baby Ramone can get that fixed up for you in no time." Flo told Holley.

"Yeah, sure thing. No problemo. Just let me go get my tools." Ramone started to drive away before he was stopped by Holley.

"Oh, no. I'm keeping that dent. It's way too valuable." Holley said, echoing what Mater said earlier.

Mater smiled happily at what Holley said. 

"You know, there's one thing I still don't get. The bad guys hit me with the beam from the camera, right? So why didn't I, you know…" Lightning started.

"Explode in a fiery inferno?" Mater finished.

"Yeah." 

"We couldn't figure that one out either." Finn agreed.

"Our investigation proved that Allinol was actually gasoline. And Miles Axlerod engineered it so that when it got hit by the beam it would explode." Holley explained.

"The only way for that to have happened is if you used something other than Allinol, but that wasn't the case, right?" Leland questioned.

"Wait a second." Lightning said as he seemed to realize something. "Fillmore, you said my fuel was safe."

Everyone turned to look at Fillmore expectantly.

"If you're implying that I switched out that rotgut excuse for alternative fuel with my all-natural, sustainable, organic biofuel just because I never trusted Axlerod, you're dead wrong, man. It was him." Fillmore said as he pointed at Sarge with a tire.

"Once big oil, always big oil. Man." Sarge said.

"Tree hugger." Fillmore retorted. 

"Well, I wasn't expecting that…" Finn remarked.

"I don't think any of us did, Finn." Leland said as he laughed.

"I guess we got the answer to that one…Hey, while y'all are here, did you want to stay to watch the Radiator Springs Grand Prix? We organized it since the actual World Grand Prix was, you know, a disaster." Lightning asked the spies.

"We'd love to." Finn replied, grinning. 

They headed to the "bleachers" around Willy's Butte like the rest of the Radiator Springs gang, and waited for the race to start. 

"This is definitely different from the World Grand Prix tracks." Leland observed.

"The racers who are strong on dirt will do better in this race." Holley predicted. 

"You know, I've never actually watched a full race. Only snippets ever since the World Grand Prix mission." Finn realized.

"Well, this'll give you the opportunity." Rod said, just as the lights turned, and the racers floored it from the starting line.

They soon reached the turn around Willy's Butte, and Mater was very loud in his support of Lightning McQueen. "Go McQueen! Whoo-hoo!" 

Holley suddenly got an alert, which notified her via her headlight flashing. "Time to go. Siddeley's gassed, geared and ready to fly."

"Well, so much for watching a full race…" Rod sighed.

"You're leaving already?" Mater asked.

"We've got another mission, Mater. Just stopped by here to pick something up." Finn told Mater.

"…Something tells me you're not talking about souvenir bumper stickers."

"Her Majesty asked for you personally, Mater." Finn said.

"But I told you all before. I'm not a spy."

"We know." Holley said.

"Spy or not, you're still the smartest, most honest chap we've ever met." Finn admitted.

"Don't forget massively charming." Holley added.

"Well, thanks. But as much fun as it was hanging with y'all, this…" Mater looked at his friends cheering Lightning on. "This is home." 

"That's alright, we understand. But I'll be back. You still owe me that first date." Holley told Mater.

Leland looked at Holley with a smirk, while Rod was still confused as to how Mater managed to get with Holley, despite Leland explaining it to him.

"If there's ever anything I can do for you, just let me know." Finn said.

"Well, I sure appreciate that, thank you. Actually, there is one thing…" 

"Yes?" Finn asked.

"Can I keep the rockets?" 

Finn laughed. "At this point, Mater, you are already an honorary spy. You can keep everything." 

"Considering her Majesty asked for you, you may as well be C.H.R.O.M.E.'s branch in Radiator Springs." Leland added. 

"Really? Thanks! See y'all when you have the chance to visit!" With that, Mater deployed his rockets and made a run for the race track.

"All I can say is that I pity the racers right now." Rod said as he chuckled.

Finn laughed as well. "Come on, let's go. Let's not keep Siddeley waiting." 

All four spies boarded Siddeley, and he soon took off for Washington, D.C.


End file.
